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As he backed out of the darkness and into the bright afternoon, Heavenly slid her sunglasses on, then rested her hand on his thigh. “Thank you for doing this.”
“You don’t have to thank me, angel.”
“I know being around Zach isn’t easy for you. That’s why I told him I’d text him when I got there. This way, you can drop me off and head to the office, and he can just meet me at the pool. You don’t have to see him at all.”
“I don’t dislike him. Neither you nor Beck has to hide him from me.”
“I know.” She squeezed his thigh. “I just want to protect you.”
He scowled. “Don’t. It’s my job to protect you.”
“You do. Every day.” She leaned over the console and kissed his cheek.
He sighed in agitation, but he let it go. “It shouldn’t take me more than a couple of hours to run these background checks. If you want to leave before I’m done, just call. I’ll come right over and pick you up.”
“No worries. I’ll be fine,” Heavenly assured. “It will take at least that long to teach Zach to swim. He seemed intrigued with the idea, but I think he’s afraid. Then again, I’m sure there’s a lot of things in our world that scare him.”
Seth nodded. “To be sure. But swimming is a good place to start since most people can. Where did you learn to swim, angel?”
His change of subject was too pronounced for her not to notice, but Heavenly played along. “On the farm. We had a big pond nearby. Though I was too young to remember, my dad told me he’d taught me before I could even walk because he worried I might wander off, fall in, and drown.”
“Smart man.”
“Where did you learn to swim?”
“The Y. To save her sanity, Mom enrolled us boys in their summer camp each year.”
“Smart woman.” Heavenly grinned.
“Do you ever wonder what Zach thinks of the real world?”
She was stunned he’d brought Beck’s brother up again. Progress? “All the time, especially the things he’s never seen before, like the microwave. It seems so silly and common to us, but he’s fascinated by it. I’ve seen him let his coffee get cold just so he can warm it back up.”
Seth chuckled. “It boggles my mind how many things he’s never experienced, like his trip to the barber.”
“And he looks completely different with a good haircut and shave. So much like a younger Beck.”
“Exactly. The barber did a great job. Since Zach’s picture has been plastered across every media outlet, maybe he’ll get some anonymity now.”
“Fingers crossed. Let’s also hope that the men who want to hurt him don’t recognize him.”
Seth squeezed her hand. “Yeah. But the good news is, the media attention has finally died down, and Zach has proven he can take care of himself.”
“I know, but…” Heavenly hated to bring up a sore spot, but she couldn’t dismiss the truth simply because it was inconvenient. “It’s just…he’s at the apartment by himself all the time, and—”
“He says he prefers the solitude, and my security system would put Fort Knox to shame.” Seth’s tone sounded more like a warning than a conversation.
She steered away from pointing out that Zach was alone because of him. It wouldn’t do any good. “Beck said that when he took Zach shopping for clothes, the poor guy didn’t know there were styles of underwear besides briefs. And that when they stopped for lunch, Zach had never been to a restaurant with a waitperson before. He thought restaurants cost a lot of money, and that he wouldn’t fit in wearing jeans and a work shirt, so he lived on fast food while he was in Vegas and LA looking for Beck. I ache when I think about how overwhelming all this change must be for him.”
“Yeah,” Seth said solemnly. “It’s going to take time, but he’ll eventually adjust. Beck will give him plenty of guidance. And you’ll give him swim lessons.”
Heavenly nodded as Seth turned into the apartment complex and pulled to a stop at the curb near the pool.
“Call me if you need me, angel,” he murmured against her lips, then cupped her nape and pulled her in for a long, slow kiss, as if he intended to brand himself on her.
“If you keep that up, I’ll be calling before you even leave the parking lot,” she joked to keep things light, then hopped out of the SUV.
Heavenly could feel Seth’s eyes on her as she strode across the sidewalk, past a pair of tall, potted palms, and through the black metal gate surrounding the pool. After plopping her bag onto a thickly padded chaise, she pulled out her phone, then smiled and waved to Seth. It took a few moments, and she could feel his protective stare, but he drove away.
